III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 33 

Recognizing the need to improve physical access to many federally funded 

facilities for all people of the United States, particularly people with 

disabilities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2011 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the need to improve physical access to many 

federally funded facilities for all people of the United 

States, particularly people with disabilities. 

Whereas in 2009, 12 percent of all people in the United 

States reported having some disability; 

Whereas in 2008, 16.9 percent of veterans, amounting to 

more than 13,000,000 people, reported having a servicerelated disability to the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

Whereas according to the Current Population Survey of the 

Bureau of the Census, the number of people in the 

United States that report having a disability is at a 20- 

year high; 

Whereas the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to insure that certain 

buildings financed with Federal funds are so designed 


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and constructed as to be accessible to the physically 

handicapped’’, approved August 12, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

4151 et seq.), referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Architectural Barriers Act of 1968’’, was enacted to ensure 

that certain federally funded facilities are designed and 

constructed to be accessible to people with disabilities and 

requires that physically handicapped persons have ready 

access to, and use of, post offices and other Federal facilities; 

Whereas automatic doors, though not mandated by either the 

Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 or the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), provide a greater degree of self-sufficiency and dignity for 

people with disabilities, and the elderly, who may have 

limited strength to open a manual door; 

Whereas a report commissioned by the Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (referred to 

in this preamble as the ‘‘Access Board’’), an independent 

Federal agency created to ensure access to federally 

funded facilities for people with disabilities, recommends 

that all new buildings used by the public should have at 

least 1 automated door at an accessible entrance, except 

for small buildings where adding such a door may be a 

financial hardship for the building owners; 

Whereas States and municipalities have begun to recognize 

the importance of automatic doors in improving accessibility; 

Whereas the laws of the State of Connecticut require automatic doors in certain shopping malls and retail businesses, the laws of the State of Delaware require an 

automatic door or calling device for newly constructed 


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places of accommodation, and the laws of the District of 

Columbia have a similar requirement; 

Whereas the Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings 

Service published by the General Services Administration 

requires automation of at least 1 exterior door for all 

newly constructed or renovated facilities managed by the 

General Services Administration, including post offices; 

Whereas from 2006 to 2011, 71 percent of the complaints received by the Access Board regarding the Architectural 

Barriers Act of 1968 concerned a post office or other facility of the United States Postal Service; 

Whereas the United States Postal Service employs approximately 596,000 people, making it the second-largest civilian employer in the United States; 

Whereas approximately 7,000,000 people per day visit 1 of 

the more than 36,400 post offices in the United States; 

and 

Whereas the United States was founded on principles of 

equality and freedom, and these principles require that 

all people, even those people with disabilities, are able to 

engage as equal members of society: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the immense hardships that peo4 ple with disabilities in the United States must over5 come every day; 

6 (2) reaffirms its support of the Act entitled 

7 ‘‘An Act to insure that certain buildings financed 


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1 with Federal funds are so designed and constructed 

2 as to be accessible to the physically handicapped’’, 

3 approved August 12, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.), 

4 commonly known as the ‘‘Architectural Barriers Act 

5 of 1968’’ and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

6 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and encourages full 

7 compliance with such Acts; 

8 (3) recommends that the United States Postal 

9 Service and Federal agencies install power-assisted 

10 doors at post offices and other federally funded fa11 cilities, as applicable, to ensure equal access for all 

12 people of the United States; and 

13 (4) pledges to continue to work to identify and 

14 remove the barriers that prevent all people of the 

15 United States from having equal access to the serv16 ices provided by the Federal Government. 

Æ 


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